Coney Island, with its famed Boardwalk running beside the Atlantic Ocean, provides a fresh-air escape venue with ample room for the social distancing that’s urgently needed while New York suffers through the onslaught of the deadly disease.

It’s sobering to know Coney Island’s famous Wonder Wheel and the Cyclone roller coaster will not be opening this spring, as I reported. Coney Island’s amusement parks, which were scheduled to open on April 4, will remain closed until further notice to help stop COVID-19’s spread.

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The woman at left wears a protective mask on the Coney Island Boardwalk. Photo: Lore Croghan/Brooklyn Eagle

Nevertheless, there’s serenity — and superb scenery — to be found by the sea. If you’re in good health, taking a walk for exercise is an activity that’s permissible under Gov. Andrew Cuomo’s restrictions enacted on Friday. Keep your distance from other people, so we can #FlattenTheCurve.

Even if you don’t live in Coney Island or Brighton Beach, the two neighborhoods where the Boardwalk is situated, you might discover you can walk to it in a reasonable amount of time. On Wednesday, I strolled to Coney Island from Bay Ridge in an hour and 20 minutes. And I’m such a slow walker that I’ve been told a sloth is possibly my spirit animal.

Neptune the sea god

I entered Coney Island via Cropsey Avenue, crossed Neptune Avenue and wound up on West 17th Street. This put me near the section of the Boardwalk where the quirky former Childs Restaurant is located.

It’s quirky because of its Spanish Colonial Revival-style architecture. It’s got a look you might expect to find in Southern California, but which is relatively rare in Brooklyn.

This gorgeous landmark is now part of Ford Amphitheater at Coney Island Boardwalk. Photo: Lore Croghan/Brooklyn Eagle

When you check out the terra-cotta ornamentation on its white stucco facade, you’ll see Neptune the sea god staring down upon you. Other fanciful figures include fish, seashells and ships.

Architecture firm Dennison & Hirons designed the restaurant, which was constructed in 1923. It was open until the early 1950s. It was part of a chain created by William and Samuel Childs, who were brothers.

A few years ago it was renovated and incorporated into Ford Amphitheater at Coney Island Boardwalk. The modern portion of the entertainment venue is an open-air amphitheater with a roof made of polyvinyl chloride (PVC).

The Parachute Jump isn’t a working ride at this point in its existence. Nevertheless, it’s an icon. The distinctive silhouette of the 262-foot-tall steel tower earned it the nickname “the Eiffel Tower of Brooklyn.”

The ride used to have parachutes attached to seats big enough for two people to sit on them.

Retired Navy Commander James H. Strong invented it for the 1939-1940 World’s Fair in Queens. Elwyn E. Seelye & Company handled the engineering. In 1940-1941, the ride was moved to Coney Island’s Steeplechase Park, the city Landmarks Preservation Commission’s designation report about the Parachute Jump says.

Cyclists get a breath of fresh air on the Coney Island Boardwalk. Photo: Lore Croghan/Brooklyn Eagle

The Mayor of Coney Island

Nearby, on Pat Auletta Steeplechase Pier, people were practicing social distancing. The folks who were fishing kept their distance from people sitting on benches soaking up the sunshine.

The pier is named for the late Pat Auletta, a member of Community Board 13 who was nicknamed “the Mayor of Coney Island,” his New York Times obituary says.

The Wonder Wheel is a century old

They stay still while the famed Ferris wheel turns sooo slowly, and obligingly stops now and then. Riders get a bird’s eye view of the Atlantic Ocean, beach goers, other amusement park rides and a swath of southern Brooklyn.

People soak up the sunshine in the Boardwalk Rock Garden outside the New York Aquarium. Photo: Lore Croghan/Brooklyn Eagle

Its facade, which is covered with tiny metal tiles that move in the breeze, is called a shimmer wall. It was created by a design team from the Wildlife Conservation Society, which operates the aquarium, and environmental artist Ned Kahn.

Outside the new wing, people sunned themselves on benches in the Boardwalk Rock Garden. Outside the entrance to the Oceanside Grill, a guitarist belted out Bo Diddley’s song “Who Do You Love?”

The boardwalk is landmarked

The Riegelmann Boardwalk, which is its formal name, opened in 1923. It is 2.7 miles long and belongs to the City of New York. It was named for Brooklyn Borough President Edward J. Riegelmann, who spearheaded its creation.

The Landmarks Preservation Commission’s designation report about the boardwalk has a photograph that was taken the year it opened, which you should take a look at.

On Surf Avenue, Nathan’s was open for takeout and delivery the day I visited Coney Island. Photo: Lore Croghan/Brooklyn Eagle

When I decided to head for home, I passed the Surf Avenue location of Nathan’s, which is the home of the famous hot-dog eating contest. It was open for takeout and delivery.

Our Lady of Solace

A few people used the restaurant’s outdoor seating for picnics. One elderly couple’s table was covered with an impressive number of beer bottles.

On my way to Cropsey Avenue, I passed the Shrine Church of Our Lady of Solace. It’s on the corner of West 17th Street and Mermaid Avenue. The church’s name, with its suggestion of comfort being offered, was irresistible. I stepped inside for a moment.

Catholic churches throughout Brooklyn have stopped saying Masses to slow the spread of coronavirus, but on Wednesday it was still permissible to go inside them for solitary prayer. On Friday, the Diocese of Brooklyn shut its churches completely because two priests tested positive for coronavirus.

This is Coney Island’s Shrine Church of Our Lady of Solace. Photo: Lore Croghan/Brooklyn Eagle

By the way, Our Lady of Solace’s website has a prayer posted on it that’s about the coronavirus outbreak. It cites Psalm 91, which in the Catholic version says God “will rescue you from the fowler’s snare, from the destroying plague.”

Eye on Real Estate is veteran reporter Lore Croghan’s column on Brooklyn’s built environment. During the coronavirus pandemic, I’ll share glimpses of places I saw while practicing social distancing. Fellow New Yorkers — please do the same when you take walks.

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Coney Island

In just a little over an hour, you can be transported from the glitz and glamor of Manhattan to the old-school amusement of Brooklyn's storied Coney Island. The destination offers thrills, sun, surf and a unique brand of entertainment that will feel worlds away from the rest of the City.

The Brooklyn Daily Eagle and brooklyneagle.com cover Brooklyn 24/7 online and five days a week in print with the motto, “All Brooklyn All the Time.” With a history dating back to 1841, the Eagle is New York City’s only daily devoted exclusively to Brooklyn.

The Brooklyn Daily Eagle and brooklyneagle.com cover Brooklyn 24/7 online and five days a week in print with the motto, “All Brooklyn All the Time.” With a history dating back to 1841, the Eagle is New York City’s only daily devoted exclusively to Brooklyn.